Sue Richie – Smashing through the glass ceiling

Smart leadership coach, trainer and writer Susan Ritchie is on a mission to help women determined to make 2019 the year they start to scale the career ladder, to achieve their ambitions. The phenomenally successful personal and professional coach, inspirational conference speaker and motivator, who lives in Lincoln, is beginning the year on a high note with the release of an exciting new book. “Strategies for Being Visible – 14 Profile-Raising Ideas for Emerging Female Leaders” – is bursting with invaluable insights, practical ideas and essential advice to help women to create their own blueprint for future success. And their mantra for success? “Be bold, don’t follow the rules and disrespectfully disrupt!”

Susan’s new book follows on the heels of her self-published and highly-popular “Strategies for Being Brilliant 21 Ways to be Happy, Confident and Successful.” Unlike that self-published title, her “profile-raising” book has been published by John Hunt Publishing with the aim of Susan reaching a wider, mainstream audience. Susan decided to write the book after spending years working with talented and ambitious women who weren’t quite achieving the career success they expected. Realising that a lack of visibility and a high profile in their industries and organisations was often the cause, she set about creating a handbook of tools to remedy this.

“It’s no good being your organisation’s best kept secret – people need to know about you, and what you can do. The women I worked with found it challenging to talk about their skills, talents and successes. To do so isn’t showing off, or bragging; it’s an essential business skill – for themselves and their organisations,“ she said. “More work is needed to improve the number of women to Executive Director appointments and strengthen the pipeline of women talent immediately below the board.” (Davies Report update, 2015). That’s where this book comes in.

Women who want a first, or early leadership role are part of that pipeline and Susan’s book will help them to take their talent to whatever heights they choose. “Women often report that, despite their efforts, they are continually passed over for promotion, whilst less-experienced or barely qualified colleagues make progress ahead of them. I wanted to provide a handbook of practical tools to help these women to raise their profile, be seen and heard by the right people and give themselves the best chance of moving into more senior roles by offering them ideas for success.”

Whilst researching her book, people have said they are surprised that, despite the many “blockers” women may face, the core challenges they face are the same across all cultures. “I want to encourage aspiring career-women to make headway as early as they can in their careers, by helping them to learn a set of skills that will ensure their views are heard, they are visible both inside and outside their organisations and they’re seen by the key people who can help them to move into the roles they aspire to. It’s one of the most crucial skills anyone needs for career success.”

Susan has interviewed many high-fliers working within a wide range of industries, who are making their mark in the UK and abroad. They include Virgin Sales Head of Sales Amanda Robinson; Keele University Professor of Law Fiona Cownie; NHS Chief Executive Jackie Daniel; North West Leicestershire District Council Chief Executive Officer Beverley Smith; Forces Broadcasting and Entertainment Director Nicky Ness and Lloyds Private Banking Head of London and South East Kate Turner.

The book strategically explores aspects of becoming more visible, including planning for success and the value of networking. It urges women to step out of their comfort zone, be ready to spot and act on opportunities, speak up for themselves and take action to ensure they are recognised and remembered for all the right reasons. Susan added that she was determined to provide a practical handbook for women who have decided that 2019 will be the year they make a bold career move. “It’s not enough to sit back and wait for things to change. I hope this year more women will have the confidence and tools to start asking for what they want in the workplace,” added Susan.

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales Melanie Christie said: “Whether you follow all of her well-crafted strategies or pick out a few to suit you can be assured that Susan’s easy to follow, tried and tested methods will help you gain the visibility you need to raise your career and your leadership skills to the next level.”

For further information, please contact Susan Ritchie on 07801 502743

About Susan Ritchie

After years of teaching in the UK, Susan Ritchie’s career took a new direction when she and her nine-year-old son Josh, made the move to Borneo. She went on to teach in South East Asia and then Central America. Eight years later, in 2010, Susan returned to the UK. That was when she decided to set-up a consultancy, which has gone from strength-to-strength, offering everything from one-to-one help to ambitious professionals, building an international client base and running highly-respected workshops. Susan is also in demand as a guest speaker at major conferences.